Collection Development Policy for East Asian Studies

Purpose of the Collection

The East Asian collection support research and instruction of the East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies Department, and various other departments including History, Anthropology, Political Science, Comparative Literature, Film and Media Studies, and Religious Studies. It collects materials in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages in all subjects related to China, Japan, and Korea except for art, music, and sciences (LC classifications N, M, and Q to V). Materials in art, music, and science are accepted into the collection on a very limited basis.

Scope

Subjects

Major areas of collection activities at the research level include Chinese literature from medieval to modern period; post-modern and contemporary Japanese literature; Chinese, Japanese, and Korean performing arts; ancient and contemporary Chinese history; pre-modern Japanese history and theater; contemporary Japanese history, politics, and gender studies; Chinese and Japanese religious studies (especially Buddhism and Taoism). Korean materials are acquired only upon requests.

Geographical Coverage

China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macao, Taiwan.

Language

Almost all of the materials are in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Only a few reference works are in other languages.

Chronological Limits

From ancient time to present. Emphasis is on Tang, Song, Ming, Qing Dynasties and contemporary China, Edo and contemporary Japan, ancient and contemporary Korea.

Publication Dates

Emphasis is on recent imprints, but some older works are collected as appropriate.

Place of Publication

Almost all materials collected are published in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Types of Materials Collected

Print is the primary format. Due to space constraint, electronic format is preferred if available. Audiovisual materials and dissertations are purchased on demand. Microfilms are collected as needed, especially primary sources. Antiquarian materials and manuscripts are generally not purchased. Reference works such as bibliographies, dictionaries, and biographies are collected actively.

Electronic resources are actively acquired through collaboration with other UC East Asian libraries as budget allows. We comply with the licensing requirements set forth by the California Digital Library. In addition to the criteria used for the print format, preferences are given to electronic resources meeting the following conditions:

Full-text resources

Accessible through Internet by the campus IP address

No password or ID is required at login

Selected Internet resources are provided through the East Asian Studies web page. The web page has minor updates throughout the year. Major changes only take place in the summer.

Systemwide and Other Resources

Interlibrary loan is used extensively. Many requests for older materials are fulfilled through Interlibrary Loan, but if the demand is of a continuing nature, the material is considered for acquisition.